Inliners International Forums General Discussion Engines Oil Pressure Gauge 216/261 swap

I haven't seen this one yet addressed. I'm putting in a full pressure 261 in a '50 sedan. What happens when you hook a full pressure engine up to a 30 psi gauge designed for a low pressure 216?

When I put the 250 in my 52 sedan, I had United Speedometer redo my stock gauges. I now have an 80lb oil pressure gauge, a volt meter, an electric temp gauge, fuel gauge and a 120mph speedo. They did a great job and it all looks stock.

All that will happen is the gage will be pegged all the time. Not a big deal, but you can have it modified if you feel the need to, like Al suggests.

What I did for my truck was to get the 60 pound gauge out of a '54 Chevy truck and change the face, then install it in my gauge cluster. The faces didn't match but the mechanism had exactly the same fittings, needle, and rivet holes. It's worked great. I'm not sure if you can do this on a car but you should be able to. You can use GMC gauges also, they were always 60 lb.

If you want to adapt the temperature bulb too, go to a well stocked hardware or plumbing store and get a 1/2" male NPT to 3/8" female gas flare fitting, it will allow the 216 temperature bulb to screw into the later head.